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A ray of hope for the urban poor, courtesy PM

Ashok Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Sept. 2

TEN years through reforms and the Government is still unsure as to whether the benefits have percolated down to all sections of the society, especially the poor. Data on this score collated by various private organisations have time and again revealed th at, over the years, the ``trickle down'' effect has simply not worked.

But there's no need for despair. At long last, the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has devised a plan which, when implemented, ``Would convey the message that policy reforms benefit the poor, and not only the middle-class or well-to-do.''

Moved by the plight of street hawkers and cycle rickshaw-pullers in Delhi -- his attention having been drawn to articles in the media and a study by `Manushi', an NGO -- Mr Vajpayee shot off a letter last week to the Lt. Governor of Delhi, Mr V.K. Kapoor , advising the Government of the National Capital Region (NCR) to take up this task of policy reform in this respect urgently.

In his communique to Mr Kapoor, Mr Vajpayee noted that the policy of restrictive issue of licences for hawkers and rickshaw-pullers is a perversion of the Supreme Court judgment in Saudam Singh vs NDMC and others, 1987. The court had then ruled that hawk ing etc. represented a fundamental right to livelihood, and was subject only to reasonable regulations to avoid potential social costs of these activities such as street and pavement obstruction.

It has also been pointed out that while the restrictive licensing system enables rents to be collected by officials who process, issue and enforce licences, the hawkers and rickshaw-pullers are also subject to atrocities by these functionaries by way of extortion and destruction or misappropriation of their wares and rickshaws.

In an age when the licence raj in other sectors is being abolished, Mr Vajpayee noted that it was time that the licensing system is reformed so that the hawkers and rickshaw-pullers, belonging to the poorer sections of urban society, are enabled to pursu e their modest livelihood without extortion.

Calling for a ``genuine'' policy reform in the regard, Mr Vajpayee said that the ``Policy reform must seek to eliminate the scope for rent-seeking and harassment by licensing and enforcement officials, recognise street hawking and cycle rickshaws as legi timate occupations which help reduce poverty, and facilitate their integration into the formal economy.''

To facilitate easy implementation, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has also prepared a `concept note' outlining an alternative regulatory system for the purpose.

According to the alternative system, while the existing licensing system with quantitative limits must be scrapped forthwith, the metropolis may be divided into `green', `amber' and `red' zones signifying free access, fee-based access and prohibited acce ss, respectively for hawkers and rickshaw-pullers.

Further, the three-zone categories may vary with the time of day, day of week and day of month and be revised periodically. While such divisions may be made separately for street hawkers and cycle rickshaws, the zoning must be formally notified and promi nent street signs put up to indicate their boundaries and timings. This will have to be done by the civic authorities (MCD & NDMC) in their jurisdictions and in consultation with the resident associations and elected area representatives.

As for registration for engaging in these trades, any person can do so by furnishing reliable identification by any means (voter's ID, ration card etc.) and payment of a nominal fee to cover the cost of the photo ID card. Penalties for non-registration m ust be restricted to a surcharge on the fee, but impounding, destruction or seizure of goods by any authority must be absolutely prohibited, says the PMO concept paper.

That's thrilling news for hawkers and rickshaw-pullers, slightly disconcerting for posh residential areas but terrible news for the civic authorities and police officials. And what's more, if it works in Delhi, there's hope for the urban poor in other ci ties too.